The Sweetest Things Cost Nothing At All
Here you are. Your normal table. Your favorite coffee place. The weather is cold. Freezing actually. You nearly slipped twice on the way here.
It's a busy day for her. The Princess of Love - in training, that is. You knew it would be a hell of a challenge for her to even get out of her normal classes, let alone the big Hearts and Hooves ceremony she did earlier today. Cadance has been stressed out of her gourd.
You wouldn't blame her for not having enough time on such a huge day. Such a special day.
You bite your lip, looking down to your wallet. Your empty wallet. Some boyfriend you are. Sure, work is hard to get as a teenager. Especially a human teenager in Equestria. Plus balancing that with school, and-
"Can I get you anything, dear?" the plump, but cheerful waitress speaks up, breaking you from your reverie. she has a white flower behind her ear and a graceful smile.
"Uh, water. If you can," you say.
She smiles at you as you look down to the table. She shakes her head, humming to herself. She trots away from you as you scratch the back of your head.
Today's about being together. Not finances. Not about how big the gift is, but what the gift means. You have to get through your thick skull, dummy.
Your eyes glance down to your bag and smile half-heartedly. You have no idea how you'll out do the blue ribbons from last year. She already wears them almost every day. It just warms your heart seeing some newspaper article with a picture of her, posed beside Princess Celestia, regal as a princess should be. With those blue ribbons you gave her tied into her mane.
You sigh, folding your hands over on the table.
The waitress returns with a water... and a coffee.
"I... er," you say, raising a hand to protest.
"We were going to toss it anyway, love," the waitress says with a smile. "Your business is always welcome here."
You pause, examining her smile and demeanor carefully. You nod, accepting what is clearly a gift.
"Thank you," you say, sipping the coffee. It's still hot, and tastes fresh.
"Like I said," she says, trotting to other customers.
The door to the small cafe opens, and a very bundled pony trots in, bringing in a blustery chill behind them. Your gaze turns to them, and their hood comes off, revealing a pink horn and a pair of violet eyes. A smile involuntarily curls on your lips. Your whole body warms. Your hands stop fidgeting. Then the concern slips in once more. You rise to your feet. Wait. No. Keep sitting? No. Be polite. Ugh.
She turns to you instincively, then smiles with a worn and weary expression. The amount of work she's done today hangs on her like a ball and chain. She's exhausted. Maybe it would be better to take the plan and toss it aside for another time.
She trots, nearly skips, to the table and wraps her hooves around you.
"Happy Hearts and Hooves day, my love," you whisper into her ear, holding her tightly.
"Happy Hearts and Hooves day," she echoes back.
The embrace pulls the two of you close, and then the time apart feels like nothing. A meaningless little irritant in the grand scheme of life. Of what the two of you have.
"I missed you," she whispers.
"I missed you too," you reply. She breaks and pulls a chair to sit beside you. Almost as if afraid to leave you out of hoove's reach, in case you might disappear. "I hate how much work all of this is. Time is just getting more and more sparse."
"Hey, it happens. The important thing is that we got time together right now," you say, placing a hand on her back. She eyes your coffee longingly, but holds her tongue. You can't help but smile. It's like this with fries, chips, and of course, cheese. Basically, anything that her 'Princess Diet' nutritionist at the castle says she can't have. "Can I be a bad influence on you today?" you say, pushing the cup towards her.
"Can I keep you?" she says, reaching for the cup a bit too quickly. "I swear they got this awful new blend of tea at the castle and it has absolutely no caffiene in it. It's supposed to be helping Celestia and my anxiety, but all it's done so far is make me more irritated. Ugh. If it were a camomile blend I wouldn't even mind. But it's this... like... death bag of awful leaves."
She breathes in the aroma, as if it were some form of life-giving medicine. Which, let's be honest, it kinda is. Then drinks deeply.
"So, uh. I know we agreed not to do any gifts for Valentine's day," you say, finally deciding to spit it out.
"I got you something too," she says with a smile. "That's what couples do."
You can't help but chuckle.
"We're too similar at times, you know that?"
Cadance reaches into the pocket of her coat and places a small box on the table beside the coffee. She blushes, before looking up to you.
"Happy Hearts and Hooves day... I hope you like it."
You pick up the box, looking at it carefully. You're suprised. It has a bit of heft to it.
"I really hope you didn't spend much," you say, feeling a pang of guilt rise in your chest for not doing more.
"I didn't spend a dime," she replies sheepishly. "I just saw it and, well. Thought it would suit you."
You open the top of the small box, and inside is a long silver chain. A stallion's necklace. But, it looks like it would fit around a neck of your size and not hang down to your abdomen. It glistens in the sunlight that reflects in the cafe from the snow outside.
"This is too much," you whisper, clutching it in your hand.
"Nonsense," she smiles. "It was gathering dust. And, well. I thought. Well, now you'll have a little piece of me to take around wherever you go."
You feel liquid pride begin to build in your eyes. She knows you better than you know yourself. You'd be lying if the time in-between being together wasn't hard. Exceptionally hard at times. But this... this is perfect. You place your lips against the chain, and clasp it around your neck.
"How does it look?" you ask her.
She smiles, a small blush on her cheeks.
"Handsome."
You smile as you reach into your bag.
"Well, I suppose it's my turn," you say. "Hold out a hoof and close your eyes."
Her gaze shifts to one of curiousity and her ears perk upward. But she does as you instruct and closes her eyes.
You pull two bracelets out of your bag, both made of the same rope. An intertwined navy-blue and golden rope, that you had woven yourself. Who would have thought that being taught to braid a mare's hair would come to good use?
You slip your hand, then slip hers on. It's a little bit loose, which you were worried about. But you could make it smaller later. You clasp your braceleted hand around her hoof.
"Go ahead," you say softly. "Open your eyes."
She looks down at your gift and examine how it sparkles under the light.
"I'm terrible at crafting, but," you pause, collecting your words. "This way... we're always connected. Heh. I suppose we had the same thought."
She traces a hoof aroun the bracelet smiling to herself.
"Great minds think alike, huh?" you say. "I mean, I know it's not regal or-"
"I love it," she says with a smile. "I'll wear it all the time."
She wraps her hooves around you and holds you tightly. You can feel her warm breath seeping into your sweater.
You breathe a sigh of relief, holding her just as firmly.
"I feel bad that I can't afford... some fancy dinner. Or something really special."
"I like what we have," she says, looking up to you. "I have to do special things all the time. I like being able to just... breathe. To escape for awhile. That's why I always wear the ribbons," she says, flicking her ponytail. "So when I look in the mirror, no matter how hard of a day it's been, I know there's something good around the corner. You're that good thing for me."
You feel your heart swell, and the world feels as if it's falling away around you. Leaving you and her alone, together. And that's all that matters.
"I love you," you say tenderly.
"I love you too," she whispers back. "And I love this. You've made today really, really special."
The hours passed. You wouldn't know that she missed three royal meetings that day to be with you. The sun moved from the mid-day high down across the sky, over the horizon, and out of sight. Patrons trotted in and out of the little coffee shop that you and her had grown so accustomed to. But in this place? It felt safe. It felt like the two of you got to hide from everything else. Even if just for a little. After all, the shop had to close for the night eventually. Your stomachs rumbled, but each of you ignored their pleas. Not because neither of you had money, but rather that... the moment was more important.
Perhaps it's the moment, and the meaning, which made this one of your most memorable hearts and hooves days in Equestria. Because all that mattered was being with each other, and having that... made it even more special.
